In Gary Ballance's absence Ian Bell will come in third position.

July 28, 2015 20:13 IST

England and Australia will lock horns in the third Test of the Ashes 2015 at Edgbaston on Wednesday. After the humiliating defeat in the second Test match by 405 runs, English skipper Alastair Cook and head coach had a few reasons to worry about. They left out Gary Ballance and brought in Jonny Bairstow. As a result, Ian Bell will be playing in third position.

Bell has been out of form for quite some time and this Ashes series is the best platform for him to prove his worth or else the England and Wales Cricket Board selectors will not think twice before dropping him and bring in a young face, which has been the look of this Cook-led English side.

"It's a brutal environment you have to perform. I know I haven't performed to the best of my ability in the last two months....The only thing I can do really is focus on what's in hand, a home Test match—always great fun, know the ground inside out, I've got to enjoy myself," Bell was quoted saying by BBC on Monday.

Bell has 7,427 runs under his belt in 112 Test matches at an average of 43.18. He also has 22 centuries to his name. The Warwickshire cricketer scored 562 runs at an average of 62 in the Ashes 2013 and was instrumental in powering England to yet another Ashes win at home.

"He's delighted to be back at three. It's a great opportunity to get in and make his mark on the game. He's a proven international player and I think he'll relish the chance to bat at three. Also being at his home ground is a really great opportunity," Cook said about Bell on Monday.

"The selectors would have thrown that around in the meetings. But they decided [to go with] the experience Ian's got in terms of 100-odd Test matches. Belly at three and Rooty at four looks pretty good," added the English skipper.

Bell will be playing at his home-ground in the third Test of the Ashes series and he would like to become the first ever Warwickshire batsman to score a ton at Edgbaston.

"I still believe that when I'm playing at my best I'm a world-class player and I'm desperate for the kind of runs that come with being a top-order player for England, but I've known over a long time with England that your job is to score runs," Bell said.

"I know that I haven't done that to my capability over the last six or seven Test matches, and hopefully this is the start of me kicking on and going forward again," he added.